RIJAL ALMA: The increase in the price of barley from SR40 to SR65 per 45-kilogram bag has caused a number of livestock merchants in Asir's Rijal Alma' Governorate to abandon their long-practiced trade while some have reduced the size of their business. Fights also occurred Tuesday among a crowd that gathered at the open area designated for the sale of barley; police and citizens had to intervene. A number of residents called for authorities to increase monitoring the prices and curb the sharp price increases, saying that the number of livestock merchants is decreasing. Some merchants said they had to sell some of their sheep to get money for fodder. Ali Mifreh accused merchants of manipulating prices and called for government intervention to fix the price at reasonable levels. Muhammad Ahmad said fodder prices forced him to drastically reduce the number of sheep he has. “I used to raise more than 600 sheep but now I have only 250,” he said. “I had no choice but to sell more than half of them to be able to raise the rest.” Ahmad said that at some point he would quit the business to avoid losing money. He accused barley merchants in the area of manipulation and “aiming to raise the prices that are already high.” “We see this practice and we cannot do anything about it,” he said. Ali Muhammad Al-Bannawi, director of the Ministry of Agriculture branch in the Governorate, agreed the spiraling fodder prices, especially barley prices, have hurt livestock breeders. High prices cause them huge losses, which make some breeders abandon the business. This harms the state's goal of preserving and supporting the local production of animal resources, he said.
